Live Traditional World Costume Exhibition

Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance

2025 is an important year for the Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance located in Tees Valley, North East England as it celebrates its 60th anniversary. The festival is renowned the world over for being one of the most respected and longest running folklore festivals on the planet. Since its inception in 1965, the festival has welcomed over 20,000 performers from 97 countries and attracted an audience of more than 1.8 million people. Audiences will be getting ready to welcome featured international performers from Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Montenegro, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, and the USA. Other countries to be represented during the 9-day spectacular will be Africa, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Georgia, India, Ireland, Peru, The Philippines, Romania and the UK. There will be showcase events, workshops, exhibitions, and free bandstand taster sessions all presented in locations across Billingham, Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough and Stockton. The spectacular, traditional stage costumes and live music are worth the entry fee alone. There will be a Parade of Nations on the same day as the Opening Ceremony when performers will march through Billingham Town Centre. It promises to be one of the stand out festivals presented in the North East this year. One of the featured shows is 'Departing at 18:25' which celebrates the bicentennial of the Stockton and Darlington Railway and looks at the symbolic importance of the railways worldwide.

See Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance tour dates